Legal & General Group Plc Sells 17,742 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,109,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 17,742 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $233,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tractor Supply during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply during the second quarter worth $38,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply during the third quarter worth $44,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on TSCO. Wall Street Zen lowered Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (down from $66.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $48.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.36. The firm has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.34. Tractor Supply Company has a one year low of $46.85 and a one year high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Research analysts expect that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.94, for a total transaction of $104,050.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,413,059.84. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 606,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,259,720.72. This trade represents a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Profile

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.